[BillCar]

PART IV: Recovery

Yet another British naval tradition cropped up here, this one dictating that sailors being operated on were to be given a breakfast of bacon and eggs the day after the surgery -- a very rare meal in wartime Britain. All of the sailors who were post-op and had had an ether anaesthetic knew that there was no way that anyone could eat anything so soon after an operation, and came to me asking if they could have my eggs. A few days later, I would do the same, and be rewarded for my efforts in soliciting breakfast.

While I was in the post-op ward, I had both nasal passages packed, as well as a temporary cast on my arm. A few days later, I had another X-ray taken. The results showed that I was healing nicely. A larger cast was applied. Some days later, the packing was removed from my nose, and shortly thereafter, I was told that I was fit for travel, so I got on a ferry and landed at Thurso.

Thurso is the northernmost tip of Scotland, and in my opinion, the bleakest spot in the world. It and Kola should have become sister towns. Fortunately, a train eventually arrived, and I went on to Glasgow, Greenock, and HMCS Niobe. Upon arriving at my final destination, I found that all of my gear was waiting for me.

When I checked in at Niobe, I got a real shock. The captain was Lieutenant-Commander *******, a volunteer reservist. He had been the commanding officer of HMCS Prevost in London, Ontario when I joined the navy. He had never been out of London since joining as a sub-lieutenant, and he had never been to sea on active duty. His given name was Eustace, and he was referred to by all sailors and officers as Useless.

On reporting to the CPO of barracks, I was informed that I was to be put in charge of the watch. It was necessary to have a guard at the gate at Niobe to make sure that sailors returning from the Greenock pubs with a new girlfriend didn't manage to get her into the barracks, but here I was being asked to organize a guard staff for the entire barracks. Niobe had been an asylum with very extensive grounds leading up into the moors, and we had sailors on guard duty at intervals all around the periphery. My job eventually boiled down to making rounds at regular times... the only reason I can imagine for this being that I was to prevent the others from falling asleep. No German spy in his right mind would go to the trouble of sneaking into into a camp inhabited by wounded sailors and useless administrators.

Salty ********, an RN leading seaman, had the gate. He had come off of HMCS Iroquois with a badly injured leg, so he sat, and I walked. He, like me, was suddenly ordered to join Huron. He was still limping a little, and I was ordered to have my cast taken off early. It was a very dull time at Niobe. On nice days, it was pleasant enough walking on the moors, and Salty always had a cup of tea waiting. There was one semi-exciting event during my stay. I rarely left the grounds of Niobe, but one day, I decided to go to Glasgow. Bunny ******* and I had visited it once back when he was still on Drumheller. Now, I am still sure that I reported to the office before leaving, but in any case, I left at twelve o'clock one day, and returned at twelve-thirty the next. I was told that I had not applied for leave, and so I was marked as being twenty-four hours overdue. I appeared before Useless, and my records show that I was docked one good conduct, which Commander Rayner reinstated when Salty and I got to the HMCS Huron.